Malevolent Spirits
by xfirefly9x
Summary: Buffy. Buffy and the Scooby gang are attacked by spirits. They must figure out how to get them to move on before it's too late.
1. Patrolling

**A/N: This is my first attempt at a Buffy fic! Let me know what you think plz!**

Malevolent Spirits 

Shadows danced across the faces of the Slayer and her friends as they patrolled the local Shady Hill cemetery. It was close to midnight and they had been out for nearly 3 hours already. Despite the late hour, the full moon illuminated everything in an eerie glow and lit a path between the graves, providing them with much needed light.

Leaves rustled gently in the slight breeze and crumpled underfoot. The trees swayed hauntingly and something moved in the shadows off to the right. Buffy paused a moment and stared into the bushes, cautiously. She didn't want to miss anything. Finally deciding there was nothing there and that it had just been the wind, she moved on, glancing back at her pals.

Xander shoved his hand into a half-empty bag of Cheetos, breaking the silence that had fallen with a distinctive crackling of the packet.

"Cheeto?" Pausing a moment, he offered the bag to Willow. She took a handful of the crisps, rustling the packet once again.

"Cordy?" Xander held the Cheetos out to her.

"No!" Cordelia pushed them away and continued walking.

"How about you Angel?"

Angel shot Xander an exasperated look and went back to ignoring him. Xander shrugged, not really caring. Dead Boy didn't need to eat, anyway.

"Buffy?"

"No thanks, Xand." Buffy replied, her voice just above a whisper.

"Okay, then. More for me!" Xander grinned and picked out a few more Cheetos, stuffing them into his mouth and chewing loudly.

Buffy came to abrupt halt and turned to face him, determination in her eyes.

"We really need some quiet right about now. Hold off on the Cheetos awhile, okay?"

"Yeah, Xander. Are you trying to wake the dead?" Cordelia retorted. It took several moments for her to properly digest what she had just said.

"No pun intended." She added hastily. "I mean, he's not gonna wake the dead, right? Right?" Cordelia turned to Buffy, a frantic expression crossing her face.

Buffy smiled grimly.

"It's not likely, but you just might. Now everyone, quiet okay?"

Cordelia nodded and huddled in Xander's arms; she was obviously still unsure whether or not they would be able to wake the dead.

"Yup, sure. We can be quiet! Can't we, Xander?" Willow piped up.

"Sure. Quiet now." Xander tossed the bag of Cheetos to the side, as if it would show that he could remain silent.

Turning her focus back to patrol, Buffy scanned their surroundings. There was nothing. Still. Normally the nasties took the full moon as an invitation to go out for a big meal. This nights' patrol had been extremely uneventful. They hadn't seen a vampire or demon all night, with the exception of Angel, of course. It was all kinds of unnatural.

"Angel?" Buffy glanced at the vampire at her side. He turned to face her.

"Yeah?" Angel skimmed the area around them distractedly and pulled a hand through his dark hair.

"Any idea where all your ex-buddies are tonight?"

Angel remained silent for a few moments, apparently deep in thought. After awhile, he replied.

"I don't know, but there doesn't seem to be anything going on here tonight. Why don't you call it a night?" He paused. "I can stay on a bit longer just in case."

Buffy considered Angel's offer for a moment. She had school the next day and hadn't had a good nights' sleep in ages so the decision came easy. Nodding slowly, she moved closer to the vampire.

"Thanks, Angel." Buffy kissed him lightly on the lips before saying a quick 'goodbye' and heading over to join the others, who had gathered a few metres away. Angel moved off, blending into the shadows.

"Will, Xander, Cordy – you guys want to head home now? Angel's going to stay awhile to make sure we didn't miss anything."

"Finally!" Cordelia pulled at Xander's arm, urging him to leave. "Let's go!"

"Wait a second, Cordy." Xander turned back to Buffy and Willow. "Buffy, what about you?"

"Yeah, Buffy! You're going home now, too, aren't you?" Willow asked.

"Soon. I've got to go see Giles first. He wants a report of tonight's patrol."

"I'll come! I want to check on Oz, anyway." Willow beamed at the thought of seeing her werewolf boyfriend. Oz was currently locked up in the library cabinet. Giles had taken the job of watching him for the night.

"Sure. What about you Xander?"

"I'll be taking Cordy home and then going home myself." Xander grinned at them. "See ya tomorrow!" He raced off towards Cordelia who seemed desperate to get away from the darkness of the cemetery.

Buffy and Willow remained where they were. For a few moments, they stood still unsure what to do. Buffy finally spoke.

"We should…uh…go now." She smiled at her friend.

"Right. Yes. We should go." Willow grinned back at her and followed her out the front gate.


	2. Screaming

**A/N: This is my first Buffy fanfic, so let me know how I'm going please! Any suggestions for future chapters, feel free to send me amessage! Thanks so much!**

Buffy and Willow continued on down the dark streets, using the radiance of the full moon and the dim light that was provided by Willow's torch to see by. Earlier, the torch had not been used because they didn't want to warn any unsuspecting vampires.

Now that they were out in the open and finished with patrol, the torch had come out though. It made for a much easier journey towards the library.

"So, Buffy. How are things with Angel?" Willow asked, cheerfully. She pulled a strand of red hair out of her eyes and turned to face the Slayer.

"Things are…not so great, actually." Buffy paused.

"What? No more smoochies? But –!"

"No, it's not that. There's been plenty of smoochies. Its just …Angel's been really distant lately. I think there might be something wrong…" Stopping by a gnarled oak tree, Buffy sighed. She pulled a leaf out of her hair and gazed down the road, back towards the cemetery.

"Oh…" Willow frowned. "Is there anything I can do?" She watched Buffy, her eyes shining with concern.

"No, that's okay. Thanks though." She fell into step beside Willow as they headed off again. "Why don't we go past –" Buffy broke off suddenly as a sharp cry suddenly rang out.

"What was that? Buffy?" Willow chewed her bottom lip nervously and watched as the Slayer ran towards an old mansion just up the street. Not thrilled at being left on her own, Willow followed her.

The mansion loomed above Buffy menacingly as she neared the front door. Long, unkempt grass made up the lawn and the grungy wooden planks of the building were dank and splintering.

Buffy kicked the door in easily and cautiously peered inside.

"Hello? Anybody there?"

Willow finally arrived in the yard behind her, gasping for breath as she made her way over to Buffy. On the way, she stubbed her toe on something hard in the grass. "Ow!"

Buffy swung around concerned. "Are you okay, Will?"

Nodding, Willow joined Buffy at the door. "Yup, I'm fine. Just stubbed my toe."

"Okay. Well, let's go check this thing out."

Buffy entered the mansion with Willow bringing up the rear.

A thin wisp of curling green smoke snaked a path through the air behind the pair, as if it was following them. It remained hidden from sight and immediately turned invisible when Buffy turned and looked back...

**A/N: The plot thickens...!**


	3. Investigating The Mansion

Inside the mansion, another scream sounded. Buffy took off at once, taking the stairs three at a time and leaving Willow alone in the darkness. She followed the rickety staircase to the corridor and paused at the top, trying to get her bearings.

"Hello?" She called out, swiftly beginning the walk down the corridor. Coming to the first door on her left, Buffy took a deep breath and reached for the doorknob. With a quick movement she flung it open, revealing what looked to be the bedroom of a young boy. She let the door hang open and continued on.

Moving further down the hall, Buffy positioned herself at another door, this one being on her right. With the same antics as she had used previously, she opened it. Another bedroom was exposed; this one appearing to be a guest room – pale wallpaper, a double bed with cream sheets, a bedside table with a bleeping alarm clock set to the wrong time and a cupboard with a heavy padlock securing it completed the room's contents.

Buffy frowned and left hastily to check the remaining rooms down the corridor. Room after room, she found nothing. The absence of the 'victim' was somewhat unsettling and she was sure that she had missed something. She was certain that the scream hadcome from the upper storey…

Buffy went back and rechecked all of the rooms going over the smallest of details and finding as little as she had the first time, before the thought suddenly occurred to her that maybe, just maybe, she was wrong. Maybe the screaming hadn't come from upstairs. Maybe it had come from downstairs.

Suddenly overcome by an avid fear for her best friend who was alone on the lower floor, Buffy raced towards the stairs and pummelled down them as fast as they would allow, jumping the last five or so steps and landing heavily, feet first on the wooden floorboards.

"Willow?" She called out, her eyes scanning the entryway, anxiously. "Hello?" Letting her eyes adjust to the dimness of the room, she looked around again, hoping that she just hadn't seen Willow yet because of how dark it was.

Everything became clearer and more focused within about thirty seconds and the Slayer was able to make out her surroundings with more ease.

She was disappointed by the fact that she couldn't see her friend.


	4. Strangeness In The Library

Meanwhile, Willow had begun to venture through the downstairs' rooms. Arches sufficed for doors and the openness that resulted was quite refreshing. The air was somewhat musty due to being closed up for so long, yet the young Wiccan could make out a permeating aroma of sandalwood and lavender as well as some other scents that were very familiar...

Moving deeper into the house, she found herself in a long corridor. Doors lined the walls, all of them closed except for the last one, which hung open on rusty hinges. It was too dark to make out what was in the room, so Willow slowly headed for it, silently casting a protection spell over herself as she went.

The doors down the corridor were identical: all of them were painted a soft off-white and had brownish gold doorknobs. She tried the first few doors on her right with no luck and didn't even bother with the rest. Instead, she pushed on towards the room at the end. It was a lot further than she had originally thought, but she finally got there.

"Lumos," she whispered, arriving in the doorway. A spark of light appeared and everything was suddenly bathed in a warm, pale yellow light. Willow glanced around quickly for danger, and sensing none, took a step forward.

The room was a library. A dark cedar wood table surrounded by a circle of chairs centred the room and shelves of books lined the walls. A rich, velvety red carpet lay over the floor, contrasting beautifully with the dark cedar of the furniture. In the corner, a fire roared in the fireplace, warming the room but somehow not giving off any light.

Willow shrugged off the discomfort it brought her and progressed over to the table. A huge pile of books sat on it. At closer inspection, most of them had dusty covers and had seemingly not been read in years.

Willow let her gaze fall past them and was about to turn and go when a particular volume caught her eye. Unlike the rest of the books, its cover was clean of dust. That wasn't what had gotten her attention though. On the cover was a huge silver pentacle.


End file.
